In a letter sent Thursday to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the lawmakers say that because VPNs obscure a user’s true location, and because intelligence agencies presume that communications of unknown origin are foreign, Americans may be inadvertently waiving the privacy protections they’re entitled to under the law.

Several federal agencies, including the FBI, NSA, and FTC, have recommended that consumers use VPNs to protect their privacy. But following that advice may inadvertently cost Americans the very protections they’re seeking.

The letter was signed by members of the Democratic Party’s progressive flank: Senators Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, Edward Markey, and Alex Padilla, along with Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Sara Jacobs.

  • Railcar8095@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    Doesn’t CGNat obscure the user true location in the same way? And what kind of VPN are we talking about? Company with exit node in the country? Commercial ones only?

    • NarrativeBear@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      I guess I am on the “watch list” as my company uses multiple different VPN solutions so I can access work files cross offices and remotely when in the field.

      Also, what about personal home VPNs where I want to route all my device traffic back to my home when I am out of the house like at a cafe/mall/airport?